Utterly haunting and atmospheric in the best of ways. I was unsure of what to expect from The Sirens but I felt compelled to listen (no pun intended, I promise).

The writing was amazing and while the story itself was slower, it fit with the vibes and the plot, perfectly, in my opinion.

I loved the dual timeline across multiple characters, The sister dynamic was also well done and something I had not realized I was craving right now.

The mystery of the men going missing coupled with the water allergy of the women we encounter was intriguing and kept me hooked through to the end.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the advanced readers copy.

Lucy wakes up one morning with her hands wrapped around the throat of a fellow first-year uni student - a guy she had hooked up with weeks before. Stunned and terrified, she flees, driving through the night to stay with her sister Jess on the southwestern coast of Australia. When she arrives, Jess is nowhere to be found. All the while, Lucy’s dreams are filled with women - two sisters, prisoners of the British colonies, being loaded onto a ship on its way from Ireland to a penal colony in New South Wales. As Lucy explores the house, she discovers that Jess has been painting pictures of the same women. How are Jess and Lucy connected to these sisters from over two hundred years ago? And how is everything tied to a string of disappearances of men in this small coastal town?

This story is equal parts historical fiction and magical realism. The past and present-day sisters share a condition called aquagenic urticaria, a rare-but-real skin sensitivity to water, sweat, and tears. This condition makes the women feel othered, deformed, but unbeknownst to them, their gifts lie beneath the surface. I can only imagine how difficult life is for people who actually have this condition. I think Emilia Hart walked a fine line rooting this condition in reality while taking the story into the fantasy realm; while it leans into the “disability is a superpower” trope, it feels respectful. I interpreted it as what we share with our family members - our genes - can be a strength that we draw from in times of trouble.

There are some elements of the story I think some people will have issues with - namely, people who are part of non-traditional families (adoption, foster care, etc.). The subtext of the narrative carries a bit of bias against adoptive families that I don’t *think* was intentional on the author’s part, but I picked up on it nonetheless. Without spoiling anything, I think if there had been a scene or two going into how the parental figure had impacted the child figure as part of raising them (the “nurture” part of nature versus nurture), I think that bias wouldn’t have been as noticeable.

I received an e-book and an audiobook for review consideration, so I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how the audio version enhances the story for the reader. Narrator Barrie Kreinik has a lovely singing voice, bringing the sirens’ song to life within the text. During one climactic scene in the prisoners’ timeline, the melody gave me chills in the best way. Kreinik also handles the Australian and Irish accents beautifully, making it easy to distinguish between the characters as chapters transition from one sister to the next.

In The Sirens, Emilia Hart weaves a story of loss, love, sisterhood, and learning to embrace what makes us different. It feels like a modern day folk tale - one that, for fans of stories that walk the line between fantasy and reality, will continue to echo after the last page has turned.

**Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and Emilia Hart for providing this e-book and audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.**

The Sirens was a quick read for me. I was engaged in the story the whole time. I did predict the ending but overall it was an entertaining, unique read.

What a strange but alluring story!

Roughly sixty percent of our body is made of water, and many scientists believe through evolution that creatures crawled onto of the ocean unto land and evolved into what we have today including humans. It's a fascinating thought and one that lends some credence to this story.

Presented by the author are two set of sisters, separated by hundreds of years. Mary and Eliza, taken onto a penal colony ship headed for Australia notice that their bodies are changing, not only from the harsh voyage but also in other ways. When their ship is shipwrecked that change is something that saves their lives and that of others.

Lucy and Jess are both drawn to the sea. they hear the music sung by those women beneath the ocean, and these sirens call to them. Jess has moved to a very strange town where men have disappeared, and Lucy's dreams and sleepwalking become what drives the story. Jess who has a powerful secret is also drawn to the sea, but needs to save Lucy from who she is perhaps.

The story is magical, the sea is mystical a world where the unknown is present and things thought to be mystical tales might just be real.

I was so excited to get the ARC for this because i absolutely LOVED Weyward!!!! I will say, this one was a little disappointing/underwhelming for me. I was expecting that WOW factor i got with Weyward & I just never got there. I loved the mermaid aspect of the book and i enjoyed the journal entries. It was very descriptive which made it easy to picture everything happening in the book.

However, I felt like a lot of this book was just rambling. I felt like we got so much information from Lucy that was irrelevant/not impactful of the story. There were certain things mentioned early on that seemed to be forgotten well into the story. I thought Lucy's sleepwalking was an important part but it turned out that wasn't true.

I do feel like the book picked up about 75% in but unfortunately that last 25% did not recoup the first 3/4 of the book for me. I think this will have many mixed reviews. It was a middle of the road for me. I'm hoping the next one by Emilia will be another 5 star read like Weyward was for me.

I loved the first chapter from Lucy's perspective, it felt quick and energetic, and I was pulled in when I had been hesitant, but I don't know that the energy carried all the way through. An interesting premise, but the second we go back in time it loses me. I know that's a personal preference, but I like the idea of modern explorations of sirens/mermaids versus always going back to an older time. As much as atmosphere was powerful in this book, but I don't know that it felt like the plot matched the vibes. I would give this author a try again in the future, but this didn't follow through on its promise.

Thank You to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of The Sirens. Once again, Emilia Hart, does not disappoint with this new novel. A breathtaking and suspenseful fantasy fiction of the bonds of sisterhood, female resilience, and the mystical sea. Ms. Hart is a captivating writer,, and I look forward to her next novel.

I loved the connection between the dual story lines and the take on sirens. The mystery of the story kept me engaged and wrapped up nicely. I would have loved to follow the story a little longer.

After falling in love with Emilia Hart’s Weyward, I had high hopes for The Sirens—and it delivered. Hart once again proves herself a master storyteller, blending history, myth, and female resilience into a haunting, beautifully layered novel.

Told across three timelines—2019, 1999, and 1800—The Sirens follows women connected by blood, mystery, and the pull of the sea. In the present day, Lucy’s life is unraveling after a violent dream and a missing sister. In the late ’90s, we see teenage Jess struggling with isolation and an unsettling teacher. And in the 1800s, Mary and Eliza, twin sisters torn from Ireland, begin to feel the ocean altering them in ways they can’t understand.

What makes this novel so powerful is how effortlessly Hart links these women’s lives across centuries. The sea is both danger and salvation, and the theme of sisterhood—its strength, its complexity—is the heart of the story. The pacing is tight, the atmosphere rich, and the supernatural elements feel grounded in emotional truth.

If you liked Weyward, you’ll find the same signature magic here: stories of women surviving, fighting, and carrying each other through time. The Sirens is eerie, moving, and immersive—a book that lingers after the final page.

Emilia Hart has done it again. The Sirens is a novel that will sweep the reader away. I picked it up on a whim one morning, intending to read just a few pages to see if it resonated. Seven hours later, I finished. And I can’t remember the last time a book gripped me so entirely that I had to read it in one sitting.

Having loved Weyward, I had high hopes for Hart’s latest, and she delivered with precision. Her storytelling is immersive, her themes rich with meaning—sisterhood, generational trauma, power imbalances, and the resilience of women who refuse to be broken. She exposes history with a skilled touch, revealing the harrowing reality of convict ships that carried women to Australia—something I had no idea existed. But now I find myself ready to research.

Hart’s ability to blend historical fiction with elements of magical realism is what makes The Sirens so absorbing. There’s a quality to the prose, in the ability to bend time and memories across generations. Two sets of sisters, separated by centuries, yet tied together by shared dreams and the call of the sea. The past and present, meld seamlessly, shaping a story that is haunting, lyrical, and deeply evocative.

This is a novel that will linger with the reader. Hart has once again woven a tale that is a testament to the voices of women who refuse to be silenced.

This is my first book from this author. I didn’t really know much about this book before I started to read it. Because I’ve heard so many other good things about Weyward, I thought I would give this a try.
It is very interesting, but when I say interesting, it’s in a good way. I like how there are 3 different timelines throughout the story, and how there is a touch of magical realism within the story as well.
The beginning of the story starts off with kind of an omg situation, but then I find it just kind of dies away as everything else started to take place.
There were a few small parts where I was getting confused on what was happening because I found there to be a little much going on within the story.

I had high hopes for The Siren because I was a big fan of Weyward but it did not live up to the hype for me. I found it overall kind of slow and boring. I knew Jess and Lucy’s real connection very early on so it wasn’t surprising or really that mysterious. I just overall didn’t love it. I’m sure many people will do I’m an outlier. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an arc.

First and foremost, I want to thank NetGalley, Emilia Hart, and St. Martin’s Press for their e-Arc.

Secondly, I hate to give such a low review for this author as I haven’t read her other work, Weyward, but this was a challenging book to get through and not in any great way.

This review comes after the published date because I DNF the first time I attempted to read it and decided to wait for the audiobook so I could do a tandem audio and book read. I thought if I did it this way I could enjoy the story more and get into it, but I just couldn’t find it in me to care about any of this characters or the story.

To me, it felt like a lot of the story was loosely strung together and that’s why I found it so uninteresting to read. I was excited to delve into the world of mythical sea creatures, but the “drama” in this novel went into too many different directions and just felt like a muddled mess for at least half of it.

Hart’s writing is very good, so I’m still inclined to read other works by her, but I will not be recommending this novel to anyone I know.

The Sirens
🧜‍♀️ Emilia Hart

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Sirens is a story about motherhood and sisterhood. Told through three separate timelines, we follow the lives of four separate women and how their lives intertwine. Part magical realism, part mystery and party historical fiction, it really has a bit of everything. 

The supernatural elements were subtle but powerful, and the atmosphere was gorgeously haunting throughout. 
I really enjoyed the interwoven family threads and how the mystery unraveled bit by bit. That said, I found myself craving more insight into Jess—her origin especially felt like it needed just a little more exploration. Same with Mary’s pregnancy storyline. I love an ambiguous ending, but I also wanted a few more breadcrumbs.

After loving Weyward, I was curious to see how this boom would measure up —and Sirens didn’t disappoint. It’s sharper and darker, with a gritty tone and an edge to it. The writing and the atmosphere pulls you in fast. Not as layered as Weyward, but still shows Hart’s skill with complex women and quiet power.

This book… was not for me, the characters where impossible to connect to and I found myself constantly wanting to DNf the book all the way through it.

It wasn’t that the writing was bad, it was good I just had a hard time connecting to it and the characters which made it incredibly hard to focus on the story.

Definitely not for me and honestly I don’t feel like I could recommend this book

Thank you Netgalley and st Martin’s press for the arc

Weyward was one of my favorite books from 2023, so I couldn't wait to get to The Sirens! Although I enjoyed it, it wasn't a favorite.

The writing was beautiful and atmospheric, but the story did drag a bit for me at some parts. Pregnancy being a huge part of the storyline wasn't my favorite either (this is just a personal thing, so I didn't lower the rating based on this). The twists were also predictable but satisfying.

Check the content warnings for this book.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5/5 ⭐️

This was my first Emilia Hart novel and although the premise was so intriguing- sisterhood, feminism, mermaids, it just didn’t land for me as one of my favorites. It was simply fine. There are multiple perspectives and multiple time periods, but I found them all to be very similar narrative, style, and tonality from the audiobook narrator, they often did not stand apart. I liked the present day timeline and the magical realism elements. Certain parts had a “Shark Heart” feel to them, which I loved. Overall, it was fine to me, but I just didn’t find myself engaged throughout the story. I think I would have liked it more with more mermaids- there was a lot of build up and I would have liked an earlier reveal with more mermaid details at the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s press for the ARC!

I was really excited for this one after I loved the author's debut novel so much. I do not think this one delivered as well as Weyward did. I found the inciting incident at the beginning of the book to not be very strong. It was not very focused at the beginning and I had a hard time following. I felt like I found myself waiting for something to happen. There was a lot of hinting at what could come up, but it never truly landed. I did enjoy reading about two sets of sisters. The concept was very unique.

I love Emilia Hart’s writing! Her novel, Weyward, had me hooked so I was excited to have the opportunity to read another of her books. The Sirens did not disappoint! The cover is as beautiful as the story of the three women who discover their power through pain and loss. One of the most impactful messages in this book is the idea that, while we might not have conceptualized an experience as “trauma” at the time, once we learn and grow, we are able to view it through a new lens. My heart broke for the characters in those moments of realization. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves books that empower women with a splash of magic involved.